Abstract: Groundwater quality and pollution have become important factors restricting urban development. Based on the systematic and comprehensive analysis of organic and inorganic chemical components, the groundwater quality in the plain area of Xiamen City was comprehensively evaluated according to the "groundwater standard" and "mineral water standard", and the formation reason of inferior water was analyzed. The results show that the overall quality of shallow groundwater in Xiamen is ordinary, which consists of 22.9% directly potable water, 59.8% potable water after proper treatment, and 17.3% impotable water. The main factors affecting the groundwater quality are the inorganic components including pH value, Mn and Fe, which are related to the primary geological environment, and the inorganic components such as NO₃^-, Pb and organic components such as dichloromethane, which are resulted from human activities. The content of trace components of H₂SiO₃ and Sr, which are beneficial to human health, is generally high in groundwater. Among the 87 groups of samples, 17 groups are high H₂SiO₃ and Sr element groundwater, better than the standards of "the rank III groundwater" and "mineral water", which can be listed as superior natural mineral potable water with medical value. Based on the principle of "The high-quality water shall be used optimally and exploited according to needs", from the perspective of drinking water safety, the suggestions of scientific and orderly exploitation of high-quality mineral water, moderate exploitation of good-quality water and emergency utilization of inferior primary water were put forward for the utilization of groundwater in Xiamen.